Dream's Brink
by Elarix
Summary: During the day, we are confronted with thousands of images, words, and events that swirl around in our minds. At night, our dreams are used to make sense of it all. A young Fox McCloud is forced to come to terms with his father's death in the haunting dream world of Infranimus.
1. Drifting

**Dream's Brink**

**Chapter 1: Drifting**

* * *

The world around Fox was dark. The dull gray walls were swept with wind, rippling as if they were liquid. The shadowed corners of the room sparkled with miniscule stars of light, as if they were at the very edge of his consciousness. All in all, the whole scene seemed like a fragile illusion, or a pile of leaves that could be blown away with the slightest breeze. But in Fox's mind, he was trapped in an inescapable prison. To him it was _very_ real.

Fox gasped; the room changed and swirled around him, melding into a bedroom all too familiar to him. Curtain covered windows appeared on the walls, a desk filled with trinkets, books, and dishes occupied one corner, and a large bed took center stage at the middle of a wall. Curious, Fox crept over to the bed and its occupant. A middle-aged, female fox lay sleeping beneath the covers, chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. Fox struggled to climb onto the bed, not because it was abnormally large, but because _he_ was small. The sleeping vulpine moaned as Fox settled down, sitting on the edge and facing her. When he slipped his small paw into hers, the fox slowly awakened, turning her head to see him.

"Good morning, Fox. I haven't seen you all day."

Already, Fox could feel tears welling up in his eyes. "Mom?" he whimpered, "are you going to be all right?"

Vixy McCloud attempted to comfort her son by giving him a warm smile. "It's hard to say this Fox, but... no. There's no way to stop what's happening to me. The doctor's are doing everything they can, sweety, and the one who did this to me has been dealt with."

Fox's head fell down, and his ears drooped as he swung his legs back and forth over the side of the bed. "I don't care about what happens to him; I only care about you. I want you to get better, mom."

Vixy sat up, reaching her arm out and lifting Fox's face with it. "I know, and daddy wants me to get better, too. But you have to let go. You have to learn how to say goodbye."

Letting out a sob, Fox buried his head in his mother's arms, wetting her nightgown with his tears. "I don't want you to go, mom!" he repeated over and over again, "I don't want you to go!"

Vixy quietly shushed Fox, rocking him back and forth. "Oh Fox, I had so many dreams for you. I just wanted to watch you grow up and become a fine young man just like your father, become a mercenary and bravely defend the Lylat..." she trailed off, reaching for an ornament that adorned her desk. It was a violet flower encased in a crystal shard. As she absentmindedly stroked it, she continued, "I wanted to see you bring home a girl for yourself, and one day, I would finally have grandchildren of my own." She set the ornament down, and stared out the window at the muffled blue light that slowly seeped in.

As Fox looked up at his mom's face, he noticed she had cried a tear of her own and was sniffling. He sat up and put his arms around her, as best as his small form allowed him to. "It's okay, mom. I promise I will grow up and be just like daddy. I promise!"

Turning her head back to face Fox, Vixy smiled once again. "No Fox, you don't have to be like daddy. You can be whoever you want to be. As long as you do that, you'll make me happy." There was an abrupt knock at the door, and she said, "Oh, that must be the doctor." She reached down and dried Fox's tears with her nightgown's sleeve. "I'm sorry, Fox, you have to go now. You have to say goodbye for now."

Fox felt himself being pulled backwards by an inexplicable power, forcing his and his mother's intertwined arms to slip away from each other. "But I don't know if I will ever see you again!"

Vixy's eyes sparkled with stars as she answered. "I'll be with you forever, Fox, in your dreams."

Fox reached out with his hand towards his mother and the perpetual bed that he could never have her without, struggling against the ensnaring force until he was finally pulled out of the room entirely, and into the light.

* * *

Fox gasped as he was suddenly brought to consciousness again. Looking around him, he remembered he was riding in the backseat of a car along a suburban road on the outskirts of Corneria City. The massive skyscrapers the city was known for adorned the distance, blocking the dull sunrise that was slowly making its entrance above the horizon. The sun cast warm rays of light across the white, feathery clouds that covered the sky, shining bright enough to make Fox flinch and close his eyes.

He caught a glimpse of his father looking back in the rear-view mirror. "You okay, buddy? You looked like you dozed off." It was hard to read his father's expression because of his ever-present sunglasses, but even at his young age, Fox was able to discern it was one of worry.

"Yeah, I just fell asleep for a little while, that's all." Fox sniffed and looked away from the rear-view mirror, choosing instead to watch the passing scenery as it flew by. Other cars, buildings, and pedestrians whizzed by in a constant stream with hypnotizing effects. The only thing that broke the repetition of scenery was a group of construction workers in gray hard-hats that were bustling around along the side of the road, working to repair some sort of underground damage, or bury telephone and LAN lines beneath the sidewalk as if they were burying a coffin. The scene quickly passed, and Fox soon found himself staring at the same boring terrain again. Unable to preoccupy himself in any other way, Fox began to think. Finally, he settled on doing what most other seven-year-old children did best:

Asking questions.

Glancing in the mirror again, he saw his father's same expressionless face stare ahead at the road. He determined that now was a good time to approach him.

"Daddy?" he began.

"What is it, son?" James asked warmly back.

"Can I ask you a question?"

His father smiled, and he knew he had fallen into his little trap. "But you've already asked me a question."

"_Daaad_! Why do you always do that?"

James merely grinned as he watched the road. "I'm sorry, Fox. Go ahead, ask your question."

Fox sat up straight in his car seat, tugging at his seat-belt. "Well... I've been wondering..."

"Come on, Fox, out with it."

"What is death?"

Surprised by the question, James nearly lost control of the steering wheel and crashed into the car beside them. As indignant horns blared, he finally gained control of the steering wheel and set the car back on track, resuming his same emotionless stance. Father and son sat in complete silence for several minutes straight, Fox waiting patiently for an answer.

Ending the silence, James coldly replied, "Death is the vengeance of God." Fox noticed his father's knuckles turn white as they gripped the steering wheel tighter. His true expression always hidden beneath his glasses.

"But what about mom?" Fox asked, knowing full well that bringing her up was a bad idea. "That wasn't vengeance."

James waited for a few seconds, a scowl forming on his face. "No. That was murder."

Again, the car ride sank back into a tense silence that dragged on for minutes one end until James sighed and spoke again. "I'm sorry, Fox. I got a little angry there. Just... ignore that. I have a lot on my mind. But I don't think I really answered your question. Can I help any more?"

"Well, what happens to a person when they die?"

"There are many different answers for that, Fox. But I think a person dies when their soul leaves their body."

"What happens to them after that?"

"Their body is buried here on earth, and their soul flies on to some other place."

"Where is that?"

"Who knows. No one who's ever died has lived to tell the rest of the world. Some say it goes to heaven, maybe hell, or a place in between. Some say it disappears for awhile before being reborn into another body."

"But... which one is it?"

"Like I said, no one actually knows where the soul goes." Glancing outside, he added, "Just like we don't know where the sun goes when it's night. You can't see it at night, but every day it comes back again."

"Which one do you believe?"

"I hope for the best; heaven."

"And if I die," Fox concluded, "will I see mom in heaven?"

"That is the one thing I _am_ sure of, Fox."

* * *

The sun was still climbing its way into the sky when they came to a stop at Corneria's military spaceport. Father and son left the car and took a short, brisk walk towards the runway and hangar area. James was surprised but grateful when he found his and Peppy's arwings already stationed and ready to go. He nodded to a few workmen who immediately set about priming his ship for take off. Fox stood close to his father's side, his tall figure blocking the sun and casting a dark shadow over him, one that made Fox feel small and cold. James was turning his head back and forth, sunlight glancing off his glasses as he looked attentively for someone. Finally, he spotted Peppy Hare, who was just stepping out onto the spaceport's runway.

After giving his teammate a quick wave, James knelt down beside Fox, taking both of his hands in his. "Now I want you to be strong while I'm gone, Fox."

"_Daaad_, do you really have to go?" Fox whined for the hundredth time that week.

"I'm sorry, buddy. We've been over this a hundred times already. You know the answer."

"But it's my birthday next week!" Fox persisted.

"It's something I just have to do, kiddo. Andross has it coming to him. And when I come back, I'll have enough money to buy you the best birthday present you've ever seen. You just have to wait awhile."

"I don't care about a present! All I want is you to be here."

James sighed as he broke eye contact with Fox and looked down at the ground. Finally, after summoning up enough courage, he looked back up again. "Fox, look. This is the last mission I'm going to be flying for a long time. After this, I can forget my job for awhile and spend my time with you. I'll be free for five years at least. How does that sound?"

After thinking it over for a minute, Fox reluctantly nodded. "As long as I can see you soon."

James smiled and patted his son on the back. "There's my boy!" After a quick glance at his and Peppy's arwings, he added, "Look, I have to go now, but I'll be sure to be back by the end of the week. Come on, a week isn't _that _long, is it? Besides, you'll have Slippy and Fara to keep you company."

"I'll miss you, dad," Fox said.

"I'll miss you too, son." With that, James stood up, grabbed his baggage, and walked over to his arwing while Fox moved to the side of the runway. He watched, helpless, as his father climbed inside the cockpit of his ship, and ignited the engines. With a loud whine, he began rolling down the runway, followed closely by Peppy. As his arwing picked up speed, Fox found himself instinctively chasing after it down the runway, struggling to keep pace. When his dad finally lifted off the ground, Fox slowed down, panting. He waved hopefully at his father, as he and his teammate's arwings slowly faded into the bright sky, becoming no more than two specks of black in a sea of blue and white.

* * *

**A/N: Hello, and welcome to my new story, _Dream's Brink._ It's a little tale I cooked up while trying to combine certain images, inspiration from songs, and even dreams of my own. The result is this story. A lot of times, I feel like my writing process is like finding a bunch of inspiration from art, music, games, movies, and books, and then coming up with a Theory of Everything to combine them all into one story. I plan on working on this along side my other fic, and only time will tell which one I decide to work on more. So, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, maybe shed a tear or two, and will keep on reading when the rest comes out.**


	2. Losing Reality

**Chapter 2: Losing Reality**

* * *

"Fox? Fox? _Fox James McCloud_!"

A sudden jab at Fox's side finally woke him up.

"Ouch! Hey! What the heck was that for?" Fox rubbed his smarting ribcage as he turned around in his desk chair to find a very guilty-looking Slippy holding a sharpened pencil. His amphibious friend pointed forwards, indicating the front of the class room. Fox obliged, turning around to come face-to-face with his teacher.

"Oh. Uh, hi, Ms. Woodrow. Do you... uh... want something?"

The rather plump tabby cat glared down her thick glasses at Fox, face contorted in a judgmental stare. "I was asking you a question, Fox. Would you be so kind as to answer it?"

Fox gulped, mind racing to figure out what the current lecture had been while he was dreaming. As he cleared visions of arwings, stars, and laser fire from his head, he rapidly read the notes the teacher had written on the holo-board. Once he had identified the material, he quickly figured out the implied question, and even the answer.

"The pirates ended up uniting the entire Lylat System."

The teacher's expression was one of shock. However, she quickly recovered, sinking back into her original smug expression. "Correct. The leading powers in the Lylat, Corneria and the external planets like Aquas and Macbeth, knew they had to unite to exterminate the threat of the space pirates. Decades of inner conflict between Corneria and her former colonies were finally put to rest when they both faced the same enemy. This phenomena is called "The Common Enemy," and is seen countless other times throughout the history of the Lylat System. Very good, McCloud. I am glad to see at least _someone _in this class has been paying attention."

"But Ms. Woodrow, I haven't been paying attention."

His history teacher once again took on her surprised expression. "You _what_?"

"I already knew it. My dad flew in the pirate wars as a mercenary."

Ms. Woodrow's face slowly contorted into the pure image of rage as she spewed steam from her ears. "Fox McCloud!" she cried through her clenched teeth, "this is the last straw! You hear me? The last – "

In the nick of time, the bells rang, signaling the end of class for the lower school. As fast as they could run, Fox and Slippy gathered up their materials and raced out of the classroom a full twenty seconds ahead of the rest of the class. They didn't dare slow down until they had rounded the next corner in the hallway and had entered the upper school section of the complex. After a few more steps, Fox suddenly realized Slippy was no longer with him. Turning around, he noticed his young friend standing stock still at the end of the hallway, staring wide-eyed at the upper school area.

Rolling his eyes and sighing, Fox walked back over to Slippy. "Whatsamatter?" he asked.

Slippy gulped, shaking a bit. "D-d-don't you know that's the high school!"

"Of course I know, stupid!"

"Y-you're not afraid to go in there?"

"'Course not! I do it all the time."

Slippy began to nibble at his fingers, nervously. "But those are _big _kids!"

Pointing behind them, Fox said, "No matter how big they are, Ms. Woodrow is ten-times bigger. Oh come on!" Fox grabbed Slippy's arm and stubbornly dragged him across the threshold.

Once they were well into the area, Slippy relaxed more, realizing there was nothing really to fear. "You come here all the time?" he asked Fox.

"Yeah. For one thing, it's a short-cut to get to our lockers. For another, I like to hear what the big-kids talk about."

Slippy frowned. "Like what?"

"Well, like... I know, just listen in here as we walk by." The two slowed down, perking their ears up as they passed an open door to a seminar that was still going on. They were just able to catch a few sentences of the lecture:

"... in fact, the percentages of conscious verses non-conscious thought are rather striking. Studies have shown that only _five percent _of all thought is conscious, logical, and ordered. The rest, the ninety-five percent, is all non-conscious, hidden from our awareness. We simply do not know that it is going on. That's why dreams make no sense. For a brief time, our conscious and non-conscious thought collide, and our consciousness struggles to make sense of it all..."

"How can you even understand that?" Slippy asked in a whisper.

"I don't. I just get the gist of it."

"Then explain it too – "

Fox quickly shushed Slippy as they came upon another room.

"... admittedly, such reports are as common and unreliable as UFO sightings. But there is scientific proof. Death is not actually necessary for a person to have a near death experience. Instead, their heart merely stops while their brain continues to function. Truthfully, in most situations, death is surely immanent. To counteract this, the brain goes into a hyperactive state and begins thinking and processing things much faster, while at the same time experiencing seemingly random visions..."

When they had passed the second door, Fox asked Slippy, "Sounds cool, right?"

"At least I know why they separate elementary school and grade school. I'm not ready for any of that."

* * *

After the two had safely returned to their lockers, they grabbed their lunches and headed outside for recess. They left the school's cramped hallways to the wide open grounds covered in green grass, large fields for sports and carousing, playground sets, picnic tables, and groves of maple trees covered in red buds about to burst into vibrantly-colored leaves. It was near the end of spring, and everyone was preparing for the end of the school year. Fox's school was already setting up for the summer festival, a school-wide celebration that takes place on the first day of summer; tents, pavilions, and booths were being put together by faculty and parent volunteers who hurried around busily.

"Grown-ups," Slippy scoffed as he observed all the hubbub around them. "Always busy doin' somethin'."

Fox shrugged, extricating his sandwich from his lunch bag. "Well, someone has to do it, and I rather it be them than us."

Slippy sighed in exasperation. "Do you always side with them?"

Fox thought back to several arguments with his dad. "No."

Changing the subject, Slippy nodded to Fox's sandwich. "What did your housekeeper make you this time?"

Fox peered at the sides of his sandwich, quickly identifying its contents. "Aunt Elsa made me tuna fish."

"Is she a cat?" Slippy asked.

"Yup."

"Figures..." Slippy trailed off.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Fox asked, indignantly.

"Nothin'. Time to change the subject again."

"Humph. Talk about _me _siding with grown-ups. _You _always change the subject."

"And what was _that _supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothin'. Let's talk about something else."

"Hey! That's changing the – " Slippy suddenly stopped, cracking a smile as he noticed Fox shaking with silent laughter. "It's not _that _funny."

Fox stopped laughing long enough to answer, "You're laughing too!"

Slippy had just taken a sip from his juice-pouch when Fox made the comment, causing himself to snort and squirt his apple-juice out of his nose, opening the door for another round of giggles. Once they had calmed down enough, their conversation returned to food.

"Does your housekeeper cook well?"

"Well enough so that I don't miss my dad's cooking."

"So... he's not back yet?"

Fox's mood darkened, immediately eliciting a frown. "No."

"I don't get it," Slippy said, "It's been a week since your birthday. Shouldn't he be back by now?"

"Just because he hasn't returned yet doesn't mean something happened too him," Fox stated, quite confidently.

"I wasn't sayin' anything," Slippy answered, defensively. "But... don't you miss him?"

"'Course I do. I'm sure he'll come back just in time for the summer festival. That's my wish."

"Everyone has their wishes. As for me, I just wish school would end... _fast_."

"That's what the summer festival is all about," Fox replied. "The end of school. Quite ironic, actually, that the school would celebrate it."

Slippy scratched his head. "What does 'ironic' mean?"

"Well," stuttered Fox, "it means... uh... it's hard to explain..."

"Sounds like a grown-up word," Slippy muttered, making Fox glare at him.

Suddenly, Fox's irritated expression shifted into that of fear. "Dang, they're here."

"That's another grown-up word. Doesn't your father teach you not to swear? But who's here?"

"Shhh!" Fox hissed, "It's Carver and his crew! Act natural and don't draw attention!"

When Slippy heard who it was, he started shaking uncontrollably, and hunched over his lunch to be as unnoticeable as possible. It didn't work; Carver knew full well where they were. Three dark shadows fell over the picnic table as Carver and his gang came to a stop around Fox and Slippy. Carver was a large sixth grader who was mature enough to shave. Flanking Carver on either side were two of his nameless cronies, a grizzled bulldog and another feline, both of which also shaved.

"Aw, look what we have here, fellas," he sneered with a smug grin on his face. "The super-hero and the super-nerd. Really McCloud, you shouldn't be seen with this twit. It's the kinda animal that would run off with Andross, right?"

Fox adopted an aggravated expression, though he kept his head down and said nothing. He knew better than to mess with a six grader ten times bigger than himself. The remark must have been particularly stinging to Slippy, who, as an amphibian, was thrown together with the same lot of reptiles who had been a part of the space pirates and were now siding with Andross. Slippy was a common target because of his species, and also because his father, Beltino Toad, had worked alongside Andross in a controversial arms company. Together, they were the two leading scientists who made the Advanced Weapons Guild the company that it was, with its CEO, Bill Goats, supplying them with the needed funds. Once Andross was banished to Venom, the company was ruined and attained a bad reputation. Beltino quit his job and was presently attempting to start up his own company, Space Dynamics, to continue in his line of work.

"What do you got here?" Carver asked as he examined Slippy's sandwich. "Something out of Andross's laboratory?" He lifted the sandwich off of the table, sniffed it, then quickly recoiled and dropped it on the table, gagging in mock disgust. "Yuck! That stuff's worse than the sea of Zoness!" "Only not as cool," his bulldog crony added.

"Gluten free bread, chemicals poured into some sort of green goop, everything as healthy as crap... what's wrong with you! You must have allergies to everything!" Carver continued to tease Slippy. Fox's friend looked up with pleading eyes, begging him for help.

"Better get this monstrosity out of here before it mutates into some form of bio-weapon!" Carver pinched his nose, using his free hand to gingerly pick up the sandwich and hurl it over to a nearby trashcan, missing by a few feet.

Fox snorted. "You missed."

One of Carver's ears perked up. "What's that, McCloud? I missed?" He grabbed Slippy's bottle of milk (dairy free), and threw it into the young vulpine's face. The bottle didn't burst, but it still dealt Fox the equivalent of a knuckle sandwich. "Didn't miss that time, did I?" His two lackeys howled with laughter, literally. Turning his attention back to the unfortunate Slippy, Carver continued to make fun of him. "You know, you should bring two bags to school from now on; one for your stink bomb of a lunch, and the other to cover your face. Here, you won't be needing it anymore for your lunch, will you?" Carver next picked up the rest of Slippy's lunch, contained in a brown paper sack, and dumped the contents over Slippy's head, who flinched as more healthy/allergy-free food cascaded down onto him. Once it was empty, Carver and his feline friend shoved the bag over his head. This elicited more laughter as his friends applauded what they considered to be creative bullying genius. Slippy began to whimper, a sign of weakness he had been fighting not to show for the past five minutes. He then tore the bag off his head and covered his face with his hands, starting to cry completely.

Fox quickly stood up, outraged at the direction their encounter was going. Noticing his abrupt action, Carver and his cronies looked at Fox, grinning because they had succeeded in angering him. "Watcha gonna do, Fox?" Carver teased him, "Bite my ankle? It's about all you can do at that height."

Fox bared his teeth in a scowl at the bully, but that was all he could do. As Slippy looked at him through his tear stained eyes, pleading for Fox to stand up for him, he realized he was just as helpless as Slippy. Resignedly, he backed away from the table. Carver grinned, then leaned down to whisper in Slippy's ear.

"See, he doesn't care about you, either. He's too scared to stand up for you. You better find some new friends, twit. Oh, wait, you never had any." His bulldog friend chuckled and gave him a high-five at his cliché jab.

Drying his tears bravely, Slippy glared back at Carver, and then, to Fox's surprise, turned to stare angrily at him. The betrayal and hate that Fox saw burning in Slippy's eyes caught him off guard, and his jaw dropped. "No, Slip, please – "

In a rage, Slippy flung all of the scraps of his lunch off of the table, stood up, and stomped away, turning his back on Fox, amid the applause of the bullying gang. Dejected, hurt, and disappointed at his failure to stick up for Slippy, Fox's ears drooped, and he slowly turned his back on the whole scene just as Slippy had done.

Carver and his cronies' insults became quieter and quieter as he walked away. He stared stubbornly at the ground, thinking about storm clouds and thunder and getting up in the morning and waiting in the rain for the school bus and any dark thoughts he could muster. Soon, it became more of a game than a mood, as Fox tried to keep himself in a glum attitude while at the same time staring at the green grass passing below his and not looking where he was going. Of course, even the act of playing a game was enough to lighten his mood.

As he stared at the ground, he noticed it change from blades of soft grass to yellowed chips of playground saw dust. Shadows of playing children flitted across the ground as he continued to walk. Suddenly, the seat of a swing came into his view. Before he had time to stop, Fox tripped over it, and soon found himself hanging from his stomach, halfway across the swing like an idiot. He quickly looked around to make sure no one had noticed his blunder. They had.

On the swing beside his, a young fennec fox was lazily swinging back and forth, intently staring at him. Fox's face immediately flushed under his fur, and he stared back at the ground.

"Hello, Fox," the girl cheerfully said.

"Hello, Fara," Fox mumbled back.

"What are you doing?" she asked, cocking her head curiously.

"Uh, well, just taking a swing."

"Like _that_?" Fara asked, doubtfully.

"Yup."

Fara continued to stare judgmentally at Fox and his unorthodox position, considering thoughtfully. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "Hmm. Seems fun." With that, she turned around and hung herself from her stomach, mimicking Fox's posture, and then began to push herself back and forth with her feet. Fox decided to go along with it and pretend that he had meant to do that the whole time. So the two foxes awkwardly swung back and forth for a while, until their bellies began to chafe against the swings. Standing up, they looked around themselves and noticed they had attracted quit an inquisitive crowd of younger kids. Fox became more embarrassed than he had been before, but Fara just rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, let's get away from them." She led Fox over to a less crowded area of the playground nearly devoid of other children. They stopped at the base of a large, wooden play-set covered in tarps, ropes, and ladders. The play set was designed to triple as both a pirate ship, a medieval castle, or a space ship, all of which whetted a young child's imagination.

"What do you want to play?" Fox asked Fara. "Wizards and goblins? Pirates and soldiers? Aliens and robots?"

Fara threw him a curve. "How about knight and princess?"

Fox raised in eyebrow in confusion. "Knight and princess? What kind of a game is that?"

"You play as the knight, and I'll be the princess; you have to rescue me from the bad guys."

Fox still was confused.

"Come on! You _really _don't know how to play knight and princess? How about all of those Mario games, or Legend of Zelda?"

"Oh, yeah!" Fox exclaimed, finally getting it. "So it's a medieval game!"

"It doesn't have to be," Fara quickly added. "It can be during any time! It just depends on what enemy you are rescuing me from; orcs, pirates, aliens, monsters, nightmares, you name it!"

"Where do we start?"

"Look, you can be the knight, and I'll be the princess," Fara nimbly climbed up a rope ladder to the top floor of the play set, "and an evil wizard has captured me and brought me too his castle!"

Quickly catching on, Fox said, "And he has an army of skeleton warriors to protect him! And I have to climb up his castle and defeat him! So it _is_ a medieval game, just with a princess at the end."

Fox was born a natural at the game. He ran around from ladder to ladder, struggling to climb each one. He fought waves of enemies as he scaled higher and higher; each time Fara was just an arm's reach away, but then a new foe would appear and push him back down to the bottom. Once the ladders, rock wall, rope pulley, and swing set had failed him, he decided on climbing the slide. And finally, after entering the castle, he victoriously claimed his prize, a quick but rewarding peck on the cheek from Fara.

"So, uh... now what?" Fox asked, rubbing the side of his muzzle.

"Now," Fara answered, "we do it again." And with that, she promptly shoved him back down the slide. At the end he fell unceremoniously onto the rough wood-chip ground. He slowly stood up, brushing specks of rubble off of the seat of his pants. "What do you mean, we do it again?"

"_This_ time, I've been captured by aliens," Fara replied, mischievously.

Shrugging, Fox said, "Alright. Sounds good to me," and he continued to repeat the process over again.

* * *

By the time Fox had rescued Fara from evil knights, aliens, nightmarish monsters, and even more aliens, lunch time and recess were drawing to a close. At the moment, Fox was in the middle of saving Fara from a barbaric band of pirates. They had forced Fara to walk the plank, meaning she had shimmied all the way across the wooden bar that held up the swing set and was crying for help powerlessly at the far end. Once Fox had succeeded in boarding the play set (now serving as a pirate ship), he halted at the swing set bar. He eyed the obstacle, catching his breath from all of the physical exertion of fighting imaginary pirates.

"Come on, Fox!" Fara called, "Don't abandon me now!"

"Whew," Fox panted, "I don't know about this one..."

"What do you mean?" Fara asked, with a hint of worry in her voice that was not just play-acting.

"I mean... it looks like a long way down," Fox said as he gazed over the edge. "And I'm getting pretty tired of this."

"You're tired of playing with me?" Fara asked, outraged.

"Well... yeah."

"I can't believe this!" Fara cried, suddenly sliding down the opposite end of the swing set. "If you were a real man, you would try to save me no matter what the odds!"

"Hey, look, I'm not going to do this all day! No one would!"

Fara turned around, sniffing and drying her eyes. "You... don't... care about me..."

"I didn't say that! I just don't want to play anymore."

That was the wrong thing to say. Fara burst completely into tears, wailing and sobbing as she ran away from their play set, drawing the attention of several other children around them. As she left, Fox reached out his hand for her, futily. When she disappeared from the playground, Fox slunk back down into the play set, his back pressing up against the wooden railing. Fara was the second friend he had disappointed in that day. How could it get any worse?

* * *

After school let out for that day, the McCloud's family maid, a homely feline, picked Fox up from school and drove him home. As they were pulling into their cul de sac, something in his driveway caught Fox's attention. Sitting up in his car seat, he peered intently at the object, realizing it was the military class hover-car his father and Peppy Hare owned.

"Aunt Elsa!" he cried, "Stop! Let me out! Father's home!"

"Hold your horses, Fox, don't jump out before the car stops!"

But Fox payed no attention to safety. As his maid slowed the car down, Fox hastily unbuckled his seat belt and swung the door open, hitting the ground running. He dashed all the way across the street, up his grass-covered lawn, and onto the front porch, heart beating and pulse racing in excitement. His father had been away a lot longer than the mission had called for, and even though he put on a hopeful expression for everyone else, he did worry that something had happened to him.

Finding the door unlocked, he flung it open, sprinting inside and dropping his school materials carelessly around the foyer. "Dad! Dad! I'm home!" he shouted. "You're finally back! I can't wait to..." Fox trailed off. In the hallway, he was not greeted by his father.

Instead, Peppy Hare was standing dejectedly before him, face down, unable to meet Fox's eyes.

He was in a horrible condition; the left side of his face was badly singed from fire, and a dried trail of blood that trickled down his forehead had stained his fur. It was obvious Peppy had made an attempt to cover for it, but it was a hasty attempt at that. Most of the blood and ashes had been wiped away with a wet cloth, but his wounds still showed. He also was wearing one of his finest suits instead of his usual flight jacket.

Black. He was dressed in black.

Fox's excitement ended. "Peppy? Wh... where's my dad?"

Peppy slowly looked up from the floor to stare Fox in the eye, but he could only manage it for a second. "I'm... sorry, Fox, but..."

"Where's my dad?" Fox repeated, already dreading the answer.

"Look, son... your father... he... we were betrayed." Peppy was struggling for words.

"What do you mean?" Fox asked apprehensively.

"Fox... your father is... dead."

Fox's face melted in horror. Slowly, his jaw fell and his ears drooped, his eyes glazing over in tears. "Why?" was all he could manage to say.

"We were betrayed by our other team member, that bastard, Pigma Dengar," Peppy said, spitting out Pigma's name in disgust. "We were on reconnaissance duty in Venom, but James saw it as an opportunity to hunt down Andross. While we were there, Pigma and Andross sprung a trap. James sacrificed himself... so that I could get out alive..."

"No..." Fox sobbed, already choking up with tears. "Why didn't you save him!?" he shouted, angrily.

"Fox, there was nothing I could do. James rescued me, and told me to take care of you from now on. I have to honor his sacrifice."

Fox covered his face with his hands, then attempted to dry his tears to no avail.

"I'm sorry, Fox." Peppy stepped over to Fox and placed his hands on his shaking shoulders.

"No!" Fox said louder. He lurched back from Peppy in anger. "NO!" he shouted again. He lashed out, slamming his fist into a glass vase of flowers. The vase fell off of its table, smashing into the ground and scattering water, shards of glass, and blue aquarium pebbles all over the brown wood floor.

"Please, Fox," Peppy begged, "We'll get you through this, I have to take care of you."

"I don't want you!" Fox shouted, his voice cracking with emotion, "I want my dad!" He spun around and dashed out the door, bumping into the maid just as she was coming in. He brushed past her and ran outside, ignoring Peppy's pleas.

* * *

All Fox could do was cry and run.

He ran for what seemed like miles for a young boy of his age. Down the street, between two neighbors' yards, into a wide open plane of golden grass, and into the woods were he so often went with Slippy and Fara, when they wanted to be alone.

Running made him remember an old story his mother use to tell him; a group of outcasts in the Lylat one day gave up on the System. They commandeered a suitable space ship, packed their bags, and then retreated into the deep, infinite void of space. They simply left all of their problems behind as they forged on, in hopes of finding a new world that would accept them.

His mother died before she could tell him the end. He never knew if they actually found it.

Entering into the forest, Fox plunged into the dark shade head first. He didn't care where he was going. He tripped over roots, stumbled over rocks, and slid on piles of wet leaves. Branches whipped by his face and spider webs caught onto his clothes. The sun was now completely gone, blocked out by an endless maze of the leaves and branches of the treetops.

In his blind haste, Fox suddenly found himself running straight over the side of a steep incline. He fell, hands flailing to catch a hold of anything, into a deep stream that passed through the woods. Within a fraction of a second, he was completely submerged in the water, and steadily sinking to the bottom. His lungs instinctively gasped for air, but only filled up with water. He tried to swim, but he had never learned how; his erratic thrashings only served to waste energy. Giving up, Fox turned face upwards towards the surface, watching streams of bubbles rise skywards. As the stream bed began to fade into blackness around him, Fox noticed that time was slowing down. The creek's water moved like black sludge, and the bubbles rising to the surface seemed more like lazy balloons on their journey to the infinite sky. Fox reached out his hand towards the surface, but now all he could see were swirls of dark vapor that rolled before his vision.

This was it. Fox truly knew what it felt like to die.

* * *

**A/N: An apology is a really bad way to start off a story, but here's one anyway. It's been, what, three weeks since I posted the first chapter of this story? Sorry about the time gap, but dem teachers have been layin' on da homework hard recently. It has come to the point were I must decide between writing and school, and I think I should put more effort into writing. And the past few times I have posted chapters have all been snow days. Guess what? Today was also a snow day. Let's try to break that habit and post regularly from now on. Finally, the story is going to take a very different turn from here, one much closer to it's namesake. No, it's not going to be the childhood days of Fox McCloud. That much, I can promise. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and will be thoroughly surprised with the next one!**


	3. Infranimus

**Chapter 3: Infranimus**

**Or,**

**The Waking Dream**

I

_"____Fox..."_

___Vixy's voice_

___echoed all around_

___the young vulpine. As_

___he futily searched for the_

___source of his mother's voice,_

___Fox was only blinded by the pure_

___white light coming from every angle._

___"I'm here, mother," Fox replied in a calm voice._

___"I... I wanted to ask you, Fox; do you remember your_

___birth and your death?" As Fox dwelt on her question, a brilliant_

___storm of swirling colors raced before his eyes, replacing the faceless_

___white light. Accompanying the images were thousands of sounds, voices, touches,_

___smells, feelings, and emotions. But above everything else could be heard the wailing voice_

___of an infant."I remember only one beginning, but many endings, uncountable endings..._

___how is it that I can see them all, lying before me like an ocean?" "Because you are_

___no longer bound by the chains of the universe; you are on the_

___outside of a box looking in." "But how did I get here?_

___How was I freed?" The light around Fox_

___grew warm, mimicking the smile_

___he knew his mother was_

___wearing. "Silly boy,_

___don't you know_

___the answer?_

___You died,_

___Fox."_

_I_

_Fox was drowning. That much he knew._

_ He was being choked, strangled, by a dark, thick liquid, watching his life escape from his lungs in glittering orbs that floated skywards. The distant light from above shone in dim rays, distorted by the lazy motion of the water. As he watched everything play out before him, he realized time was getting slower and slower, until it came to a complete stop; the light vanished, and the rising bubbles froze mid-flight, now merely glittering jewels amidst the blackness. But they weren't bubbles anymore..._

_ They were stars._

_ Fox became aware that he was once again moving, this time at a dizzying rate. He flailed around helplessly as he fell through empty space, wind whipping at his clothes and drawing tears from his eyes. __As much as he tried to fly, there was nothing he could do. He oriented himself face downwards, trying to catch a glimpse of the ground in the inky blackness. He was able to make sense of his direction because__ that half of the sky was devoid of stars. As he squinted his eyes, he was able to make out a sea of dark branches rising towards him faster than a train. Eyes widening in panic, he flipped around in mid-air, not wanting to see the ground when he hit._

_ When he finally hit the forest canopy, his fall was broken by a network of black branches, weathered and twisted into strange, groping hands. He fell, deeper and deeper into the forest, breaking __branches__ on the way down, until he fell through another ten feet of open air and painfully hit the ground._

___What's wrong? __Fox thought to himself, ____don't you always wake up before you hit the ground in a dream? Maybe you have to die to actually wake up... unless this isn't a dream at all..._

_ Groaning in pain, Fox rolled onto his belly and rubbed his aching body. He tried to climb up onto all fours, but he immediately winced in pain and fell flat on his stomach again. He was obviously in no condition to walk, and his head kept spinning. Whether it was from the dizzying fall or from the disorienting dream itself, Fox could not tell. __All he new was that he had to move, to at least escape the clouded forest he was in._

_Seeing no other option, Fox placed one hand in front of the other and began to crawl._

_ The forest didn't make sense; the inky blackness was dotted with glimmers of dour red that seemed to come from nowhere. Roots twisted in unpredictable patterns, sometimes stretching as far as three tree-__lengths__ from their sources, or even reaching to the treetops. Dried, brownish leaves not only carpeted the rough dirt floor, but also hung suspended in mid air, shifting or swirling away in little eddies as he disturbed them. And the whole scene around him was slightly blurred as if he were looking at it through water. The total effect the woods produced upon him was enough to make him hide his face beneath his arms so as not to get dizzied anymore than he already was._

_Fox stubbornly pressed on, crawling and crawling towards what he hoped was the edge of the forest. As he continued, he thought he noticed the red glow reflecting off of the trees slowly get brighter, but it could have been his imagination._

_ Of course, it was his imagination, wasn't it? __Everything was._

_ Suddenly, his hands no longer clenched moist leaves and roots as he pulled himself forwards, but blades of dried grass. Fox looked up, and found the end of the forest right in front of him. To his right and left, the dark forest stretched on as far as his eyes could see, until they disappeared into shadows. In front of him, rolling planes lead like ocean waves into a gloomy sunset. To Fox, the experience of leaving the forest for the wide open fields was like taking a breath of fresh air after staying inside, or escaping school after being cooped up for eight hours. __But now that Fox was there... what was he to do?_

_ Finding he had the strength to stand, Fox raised himself up onto his feet, though careful not to put too much weight on his left leg. Hobbling like a lame animal, Fox made his way to a large outcropping __of rocks __that overlooked the new scene in front of him. __He sat down on a comfortable one, growing beside which was a scraggly, leafless tree._

_ Looking around him in every direction, Fox took in the new world he had found. Before his eyes stretched a vast expanse of plains and hills, which ended at the horizon in a brilliant sunset. The sky looked like the closing of God's eye; the black heavens of night above, the dark fields below, and strips of colored sky in between where the sun had just slipped over the horizon. At the very edge of the world, a soft, red light glowed, slowly changing to orange, yellow, green, and then blue as it climbed skyward like a giant wave covering the earth. __Amidst the plains were piles of boulders and rocks ever so often, some of which were also suspended in the air several feet above the waving grass. The wind that howled forsaken and mournfully past Fox's ears manifested itself as clear liquid streams that slithered across the open expanse like snakes._

_ Overcome by the sheer size of the world, Fox began to sniff, which slowly turned into full out crying. He was a small speck in a vast ocean, a star in the sea of the universe, a stranger in a strange land. And for the first time in his life, Fox realized what it was like to be truly and utterly alone._

_ Shivering from lonesomeness, Fox drew his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, burying his face in his knees. His tears soaked through his pants and fur, chilling his legs.____If this is a dream, __he thought, ____why won't I wake up?_

_ Fox fell onto his side, grabbing at the hard rock and curling into a fetal position as he cried himself to sleep. Sleep. The one thing left to do in a dream was sleep._

_I_

_ "__Get up."_

_ Fox stirred, slowly opening his eyes and half expecting to see the real world again, but instead, he was greeted by the same one he had fallen asleep in. He was still lying on the cold, rock ground. In front of his face waved a large shadow that swept at the rock below it._

_ "Get up, boy," repeated the deep, cold voice._

_ Fox stretched lazily and sat up, starring at the form in front of him. It was a tall shadow of a man, shrouded in a dark cloak. His face was completely obscured by his drooping hood. He leaned on a large walking stick whose tip was frayed like a rope, as if it was being swept away in the breeze along with everything else __o__n th__e plain__. The specter was dark and imposing, and Fox immediately noticed that he cast a shadow that completely covered him._

_ "Who are you?" Fox asked the figure._

_ "My name is Somniadux," he replied, "but you can call me Guide."_

_ "Guide..." Fox repeated, his whisper blown away by the wind. "Do you know this place well? I'm a bit lost."_

_ "Everyone needs a sense of direction," Guide replied, matter-of-a-factly. "By the looks of it, you came from Dimlight Forest. This right here, that stretches before you, is the Twilight Waste. And the whole world that contains all of these places is called Infranimus. But come, names mean nothing to a young boy like you. You need to see it. Can you walk?" Guide held out a hand to Fox, who immediately accepted it. The warm touch reassured him and gave him strength; he wasn't alone after all._

_ When he tried to stand on both feet, his left leg gave out and he fell back down again. Fox cried out in pain._

_ Concerned, Guide leaned over Fox, who still could not get a good look at his face. "Are you alright? Is your leg broken?"_

_ "I think it might be..." Fox admitted. "But I can walk! Honest I can!" The last thing he needed was to be left behind by the only other person in Infranimus._

_ Guide spread his cloak out, the ends of which whipped around Fox and enveloped him, covering him from the __light__ wind of the Twilight Waste. __Fox scooted in closer, feeling safe and secure in the folds of Guide's cloak. Guide opened a bag that __hung on__ the inside of his clo__ak__, and pulled out several clinking vials and a pouch of crushed leaves. He rolled Fox's pant leg up, and proceeded to treat his wound. Even after a few minutes, Fox already felt his leg healing._

_ Once he was done, Guide tied a bandage around Fox's leg and stood up, giving him some space. Fox awkwardly rose, surprised when he found that he could put his full weight on his once broken leg. It didn't make sense; even he knew a bit about broken bones, and a few concoctions and herbs would not do the trick._

_ "How did you do that?' he asked in wonder._

_ "Do you have to understand how it works to be healed?" Guide asked back._

_ "Well, no."_

_ "Do you have to know where the sun is to see its light?" Guide continued, pointing a robed paw at the sun that perpetually hid behind the horizon._

_ "No."_

_ "Understanding is not necessary, Fox; __b__elieving is. If I told you the truth, you would not believe, because it does not make sense. __In this world, all that is required is belief.__" Guide brought his head closer to Fox's, who stared back into his inky blackness, knowing __Guide__ was trying to meet his eyes. "Do you believe me, Fox?"_

_ "Sure. I believe you."_

_ Straightening back up, Guide answered, "Then your leg is healed."_

_ There was a long pause of silence as ne__ith__er of them spoke, and the wind took its turn to howl some more. Fox looked left and right across the rolling plains. "So, where do we go?" he asked._

_ Somniadux chuckled. "'We?'" he asked, skeptically._

_ "Of course we." Fox grabbed Guide's free hand and stepped closer to him, taking refuge in his dark cloak. "I'm going with you. You are the Guide, after all."_

"Then I will guide you, Fox." Somniadux gave Fox's hand a squeeze and stepped off of the pile of stones Fox used as a vantage point and bed. Together, they set out on a journey to explore the unending world of dreams.


	4. Twilight Waste

**Chapter 4: The Twilight Waste**

**Or,**

**Escaping Truth**

* * *

"Hey, uh... where are we going?" Fox asked his guide.

Somniadux turned his head around to gaze at Fox as he answered. "Good question, little one; Icelus City. It's not too far from here... though it doesn't have the best climate."

"Why are we going there?" he persisted.

"Just to visit a dear friend mine."

Fox narrowed his eyes, peering into the dark recesses of Guide's hood, but he could discern nothing. They were traveling together on the Twilight waste, along a dirt path overgrown with weeds. It was clear that the path was not often used. They crested a hill, and Fox looked around at the vast landscape before them. Even though they had been traveling for several hours, the time of day had not changed; the sun still hung just out of view below the horizon, casting a rainbow of colors onto the dark sky. Dried grass completely covered the ground as far as the eye could see, most of which was tall enough to come to Fox's chest.

"How did I get here?" Fox inquired.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Guide replied.

Fox stared down at his feet for a moment, trying to put together his memory, but anything that came to mind was just as dark and distorted as the landscape around them. Slowly, though, his thoughts began to coalesce. "I... I came home from school," Fox began, haltingly, "and I was told that my father had died. Then I ran away..."

Somniadux nodded, knowingly, his hood bobbing with his head. "And what then?"

"And then I fell into a creek... but... I can't see..." Fox trailed off, struggling to remember.

Guide turned around again, staring blankly at Fox. "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

Finally, the last piece of the puzzle fell into place in Fox's mind. His jaw dropped and he froze in his tracks. "I... I'm... _dead_?" His voice wavered on the final word.

Guide merely nodded, slowly.

Fox fell to his knees, clutching at the dirty road with his fingers. Thousands of thoughts swirled around in his head, realizations that he would never see the light of day again, that he would never be able to ask the questions he had left unasked, that his best friends would be gone forever. But above all, he could never live up to his father.

A dark shadow passed over him, and he looked up to see Somniadux kneeling down. "What troubles you, little one?"

"It's just that I'll never be able to do anything anymore. I've always tried to be like my dad, for my parents' sake, but I've failed." Fox sniffed, feeling more tears coming to his eyes. "But this can't be... I can't be dead."

Guide tilted his head, as if he were also raising an eyebrow behind the cowl of his hood.

"I'm not dead. How can I be? I'm here, aren't I?"

"Denial is not the way to face death, small one."

"But you told me the most important part is believing!" Fox accused Guide.

Somniadux sighed. "Be careful what you believe; there is nothing worse than blind faith. You have to face the reality of it."

"But this isn't real, is it? I'm in a dream. I'll wake up soon, won't I? And then everything will be fine."

"Little one, you aren't going to wake up. This is the _end_."

But Fox ignored him. "You'll see! I'll wake up sometime. That's what they make you think in a dream; that you can't wake up and that it's actually reality anyway."

"Then why can't you wake up now?"

Fox's new positive attitude did not falter. "Well... I just don't want to wake up!" He jumped to his feet and spread his arms out wide. "Look at this place. It's awesome! Who would want to wake up from this? No, I think I'll stay awhile. I don't want to wake up just yet."

Somniadux rubbed his face with a robbed paw. "The stubbornness of children... alright, go on believing what you want to. Let's not talk about it anymore, shall we?"

Fox nodded enthusiastically. "Fine by me! But let's hurry and get to your friend." He cheerily bounded forwards, running down the path as fast as he could. He ducked to scramble underneath a boulder suspended in mid-air over the path.

"Hey! Hold up, little one!" Guide stumbled after him, his cloak sweeping the dried earth. He pushed the floating boulder out of the way with his staff as he hurried to keep up with Fox.

Fox noticed a pile or rocky shards piled up on the crest of a hill, noting that it would make a good vantage point. He left the path, diving into the tall, dried grass that rose above his head in some places. The grass brushed along his body and rubbed against his face like wind. He poked his head up every now and then to see if he was on track. Finally, he made it to the sharp crag and scrambled to the top. He lay down against the hard rock, crawling to the very edge of the crag, and gazed out over the Twilight Waste. Though he was met with the same scene as before, Fox could still not believe his eyes, and his breath was taken away. Guide crawled up beside him, and for once they were at the same height. They stared down at the never ending plains of dull, waving grass, colored by the vast sunset.

"Is it always like this here?" Fox asked.

"Infranimus is a world of many places, but there is one thing that stays the same for each one. The sun is always hidden."

"Why is that?"

"You ask too many questions."

Fox stared at the very brink of the horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of the hiding sun, but he was disappointed. "But where does the sun go in the afternoon? Does it always just hide out of view?" He was struck be a strong sense of deja vu.

Somniadux shrugged. "No one knows. No one has ever seen it here. You may not be able to see the sun, but you know it has to be real because it lights up the world."

Suddenly, Fox caught sight of a few dark forms slowly moving about in the plains. "What are those?" he said, pointing them out to Guide.

"Monsters," whispered Guide. "You never know when you might run into them in Infranimus."

"Cool..." Fox breathed. "Are there lots of them?"

"They roam the more unpopulated areas."

"Can we get closer to them?" Fox asked. "I want to see them better."

"It's too dangerous, they might notice us and attack."

"_Please_?" Fox begged.

"Well... alright, fine, we'll sneak up on them. But you have to follow my lead and be very careful. Stay below the grass and – " he froze, mid sentence, as the sound of falling pebbles echoed around the crag. Somniadux flung himself up and spun around while Fox struggled to his feet. He was surprised to find two of the same type of monsters scaling up the side of the rock formation towards them. Fox froze in fear as he locked eyes with the closer of the two; its form was dark and shifting, but the traits he managed to make out were rough, pitch black fur, scraggly legs that grabbed and clawed at the rocky incline, and a pair of wickedly pointed horns at the top of its head. As the beasts opened their fanged mouths to snarl, Fox took a careless step backwards, slipping and nearly falling off the edge. Quickly sizing up the situation, Guide decided on a desperate course of action. He bent down to pick up Fox, then flung both of them over the edge together. Fox felt his stomach flip as the wind whistled past their falling bodies, and he struggled to keep a hold on Somniadux. Before hitting the ground, Guide twisted so that he was between Fox and the ground. Thankfully, both of their falls were cushioned by the thick blades of grass at the bottom. After they scrambled to their feet, Guide grabbed Fox's hand and pulled him into a taller section of the grass. Fox looked over his shoulder just in time to see the monsters halt at the edge of the crag, howling and bellowing clouds of steaming vapor.

"Wha... what are they doing?" he panted.

"Probably calling the rest of their pack," Guide answered.

Rushing out on the other side of the forest of grass, they found themselves confronted by three more dark beings, all slowly crawling towards them. Guide began to lead Fox back into the taller grass, but discovered the two monsters who had chased them off the cliff were waiting for them. Fox pulled himself into Guide's large cloak as he brandished his staff at the monsters. One decided to attack, lowering its head to point its horns at them and pawing at the ground. It charged at them, furiously bellowing smoke in every direction. At the last possible moment, Guide sidestepped, swinging his staff around to deliver a crushing blow to its head. The monster heaved and fell to the ground, struggling to move like a twitching insect. The blow had bashed its head in, spreading black liquid over the ground, but it slowly began to merge back together again.

"Don't let it reform!" Guide ordered. "Tear it apart! I'll watch the rest of them."

Fox uneasily left the safe confines of Guide's cloak to kneel down beside the monster. He reached out his hands and lay them on the monster's hide, gasping in surprise when they sank through into its belly. Deciding to follow Guide's commands, he began pulling the monster apart, which was a surprisingly easy task, as its body gave way like oil or dark molasses. He pulled away large blobs of inky flesh, throwing them as far apart as he could from each other, until they lay scattered about in every direction. The dark liquid gurgled and sank into the ground, and Fox was relieved to discover none of the monster's remains had stained his hands.

He rose up from the ground just in time to witness another one of Guide's attacks. When the second monster walked beneath a floating boulder, Guide pulled out a red vial of potion and swiftly lobbed it at the rock. The vial exploded, causing the rock to fall and crush the monster beneath its weight. The monster's body lost its form, dissolving into more dark liquid that seeped into the ground.

By now the three remaining monsters were thinking twice about attacking them. Instead, they circled around the two animals, pawing at the ground impatiently and snorting black vapors into the air. Guide reached inside his cloak again, this time pulling out a strange throwing-star like weapon that had a long, thin chain attached to it. He expertly flung it at one of the monsters, the pointed star burying into its side. He jerked his arm back, and pulled the monster towards them, snarling and struggling to get free. Fox then repeated the same process they had used before, tearing the monster apart until he had disappeared into the ground.

The two monsters that were left decided to turn tail and run; they realized it was a fight they could not win. Panting from exertion, Somniadux wound up his throwing star and chain, then bent down to give Fox a hand up. As Guide lead him back towards the main road, Fox couldn't help looking back over his shoulder at the retreating monsters. They clearly were not happy about losing their prey.

Once they were back on the road again, Fox asked Guide, "What were those things?"

Shrugging, Guide said, "They are monsters. Simple as that. There are hundreds of deviations of the foul creatures, so many that we've had more trouble than Adam naming them all."

"How did they get here?"

"Some idiot named Morpheus is responsible for them. I use to respect the man, until he went too far. Morpheus was a mage who specialized in magic, most of which was beneficial to this world. However, he became obsessed with the stuff, going to the length of even experimenting with black magic. He ended up creating all types of horrors that plagued Infranimus, and was banished by the rest of the inhabitants."

"B-banished?" Fox asked. "Where to? Somewhere far away... right?"

Guide shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. He is still free to roam around Infranimus. Where, none can say, but it was a mistake to let him go free in the first place."

"Why? Has he done anything else?"

"He causes mischief from time to time. There have only been a few events where he has done any serious harm. Still, it would warrant him an execution."

"Wait... an execution? Does that mean... people can still die here?"

"Yes, little one, the danger is very real. If you hadn't noticed, this isn't exactly Heaven."

Disappointed and a bit frightened, Fox let his head fall down so that his chin rested on his chest. Noticing his mood, Guide reached out a paw and took Fox's, giving him what little comfort he could. Grateful for the gesture, Fox accepted the hand and hurried up to step in time with Somniadux as they continued down the path.

* * *

An hour later the wandering duo found their progress completely halted. Before them, an out of place river flowed straight across the path. As the river was extremely wide and dangerously rapid, swimming was out of the question.

"Morpheus..." Guide whispered.

"You think he did it?" Fox asked.

"The river is definitely not natural; the path leads right down into it, so it must have been placed here recently. He's the only one I can think of who'd be responsible for this."

"Well... uh... what are we going to do?"

"We might be able to build a bridge with some of the rocks out here, but it would be very time consuming. I rather not waste our energy – " he suddenly broke off, shushing Fox and pushing back his hood so that a furry ear poked out. Fox took the opportunity to scan Guide's hidden face again, but he could make nothing more out.

Giving up, he followed Guide's lead and listened for any noise. Sure enough, the faint sound of deep voices could be heard, singing a distant chorus. As the sound got louder, Fox was surprised to see a workforce of moles crest the hill behind them, marching on the same path they were on. The moles were wearing silver hard hats, brown work vests, and yellow boots. They carried various assortments of tools, from pickaxes, to shovels, to hammers, to ladders and two-by-fours. Each one of the pudgy-faced mammals was either joining into the chorus, whistling along to the tune, or grumbling darkly to themselves about how much they hated it when the others sang. Soon enough, the workforce was upon them, and Guide pulled Fox aside into the grass to get out of their way. Some of the moles passing on their side smiled, waved, and winked at the two bystanders cheerily as they marched on their way. However, they showed no signs of being aware of the river in their path.

Fox tugged at the hem of Guide's cloak. "Do they even see the river? Are they going to stop? Shouldn't we warn them about it? "

"Actually, I'd kinda like to see how this plays out," Guide said, observing the moles intently as they marched blindly onwards.

"_Guuuuide_!" Fox pleaded.

Somniadux sighed. "Fine. Hey! Foreman! A word with you, if you don't mind."

A burly sized mole wearing a golden hard hat and green bandana waddled over to Guide, tipping his helmet. "Good day, sir. What seems to be the problem? Is there a complimentary dreamscaping service we may perform for you?"

Guide simply pointed at the river in their way. "Since when has that been there?"

The foreman followed his finger until his eyes reached the river. By now, several of the moles were already waist deep in the water, and still oblivious. The foreman's eyes bulged in their sockets, and he called out, "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU IJITS DOING!? DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE WALKING INTO!?"

There was only a slight disturbance at the front of the line; the moles in the bank of the river looked at their feet, blushing profusely under their stubble and wearing sheepish grins. All except one of the workmen turned around to walk back onto the shore. The remaining mole continued to march on, whistling unabatedly.

"Hey, Alistair!" the foreman shouted to get his attention, "ALISTAIR!"

"What's a matter with him?" Fox asked curiously.

The foreman brushed him off. "Nothin', kid, he's just completely deaf."

"And blind," a workman added in a deep, scratchy voice.

Fox watched helplessly as the oblivious mole continued to walk until he was completely submerged in the river, out of sight.

"Well knickers. Now we've gone and lost Alistair again." Shrugging, the foreman turned back to Guide and said, "Now, I suppose you'll be needing a bridge to cross that stream, eh? Eh?"

"A bridge would be nice, yes, thank you, Foreman."

"Alright then." Foreman, as Guide simply called him, clapped his padded hands together and shouted out to the others, "Let's get to work! _This bridge won't build itself_! Now, pull out all of the appropriate pieces!"

Before Fox's eyes, the mole workforce removed all of their tools from their belts and pockets, pulled nails and bolts out of their hats, and set down their stacks of wooden planks. They threw all of the materials into a large pile at the side of the road, then sat down together in a long line and unrolled the instructions, which ended up stretching from one end of the line to the other. The moles went through all manner of intense consideration as they attempted to decipher the instructions; they removed their hats to scratch their heads, stroked their chin stubble, and mumbled incoherently to themselves. Fox fell to his knees in despair; it was obvious the bridge was going to take hours to build.

However, behind the long line of moles, the pile of materials suddenly moved without provocation. First, the planks, screws, bolts, and tools all separated into different piles of their own. Next, the boards flew out across the river, aligning into the perfect shape of a stable bridge. Finally, the tools went to work screwing in the nails and bolts.

Still unaware of what had occurred, the foreman jumped to his feet and exclaimed, "I've got it! First, we have to – " But he stopped mid-sentence when he saw that the bridge was already built. "Oh. I guess the bridge actually did build itself." Turning to Guide and Fox, he bowed courteously and indicated the perfectly constructed viaduct. "_Vo__ilà_. Your bridge, sir."

Somniadux helped Fox to his feet. When he passed in front of chief bowing in mock politeness, he said, "Foreman, if your job was this easy every time, you soon would be as fat as the time Morpheus cast the bloating curse on the people of Jamadipe."

Frowning, Foreman indicated his fat stomach. "What do you mean, 'would be fat'? What's it look like we are now?"

Guide merely chuckled and bowed his head, taking Fox along with him across the bridge. Once they were on the other bank and well outside of earshot, Fox asked, "Are they always like that?"

"Like what?" Guide responded as if everything was perfectly normal.

Fox sighed. "Nothin'."

Guide ruffled up Fox's hair, teasingly.

* * *

After another immeasurable amount of time, Fox and Guide stood before a giant wall of stone that stretched upwards, its tiers of sharp spires scrapping against the sky. At first, it appeared to be a solid wall, but upon closer examination, Fox realized it was composed of separate columns, spikes, and formations of stone.

Guide rested a paw on Fox's shoulder, saying, "Stick close to me; it's easy to get lost in this maze of rocks."

"What is it?" asked Fox, shifting closer to Guide.

"It's a strange rock formation that separates the Twilight Waste from Icelus Valley. Can you feel it? The cool breeze coming from in between the spires?"

Fox closed his eyes in an attempt to heighten his awareness. Sure enough, a chilly wind emanated from the stone forest. When he felt Guide step forward and tug his hand, Fox stumbled after him. When they entered the stone forest, the last rays of the setting sun were closed off behind them, plunging the pair into relative darkness. Around them, the dusty shelves of rock breathed forth a faint mist from every, nook, cranny, and crevice. The deeper they wandered into the maze, the more frequently they were chilled by cold drafts blowing through the canyons.

Guide caught his breath and snapped his head to the right as a small pile of rubble cascaded down one of the spires. Exhaling, he looked forwards again and lead Fox onward. However, Fox couldn't help looking back where the noise had come from, suspiciously. His fears did not go unwarranted, as another event occurred. On their left, a dark form swept by, creating a whooshing sound in his wake. Fox and Guide turned just in time to see the last bit of shadow disappear behind a rock wall.

"What is it?" Fox whispered, but was immediately shushed by Somniadux. His guide picked up the pace and rushed Fox on, hurriedly choosing their path through the stone maze. Beside them, a large avalanche of rocks slid down into the canyon, narrowly missing them. Fox tripped on a loose rock and fell forwards, skinning his knees and crying out. Guide slowed down and turned around towards Fox. He bent down to help the small kit to his feet, but then froze in fear as he gazed down the canyon. Fox followed the direction in which he was looking until a dark shape materialized out of the gloom, leaping after them in erratic leaps and bounds. Fox quickly took Guide's hand up and brushed himself off.

"Little one, I think it would be much easier if I carried you," Guide said, stooping down and offering his back to Fox. Nodding, the young vulpine climbed up his shoulders and hung his arms around Guide's neck. Standing up, Guide began to run as fast as he could down the canyon, away from the unknown monster chasing them. Fox watched the dark landscape around him bounce up and down as Guide ran, causing him to clutch more tightly at his cloak. Out of nowhere, a soft, cold flake suddenly landed on Fox's nose. Looking around, he noticed that a light snow was beginning to fill the canyon and dust the toned rock shelves around them. It was then that Fox realized just how close they were to Icelus valley.

The monster behind them let out a feral growl as it renewed its chase towards the hapless pair, causing Fox to turn around and look at it. It lingered just out of sight in the shadows, but from what Fox could make out of it, it was similar to a large, black wolf. Frozen in fear and perhaps the chilling cold, all Fox could do was cling to Guide's shoulders and stare in terror at the approaching monster.

"W-w-why are you running?" he managed to ask, "Can't you kill it like you did the rest of Morpheus's monsters?"

Breathing heavily, Guide replied, "Morpheus didn't make that monster."

"Then who did?"

For a while, Guide remained quiet, obviously avoiding answering the question. Instead, he merely surged on ahead, intent on outrunning the monster through the maze of stone.

"What is it?" Fox asked.

"You ask too many questions, small one," Guide spat. Glancing over his shoulder, he realized Fox was staring at their pursuer. "Stop it!" he shouted, "Don't look at it!"

"But why? Fox asked, mesmerized by a morbid curiosity.

"I said, don't look at it!" Guide commanded again. He reached back and forced Fox's face into his shoulder so that the monster was out of view. Giving up, Fox turned his attention to the path ahead. The two cliff sides that now bordered them on either side stretched on to a thin, distant, bar of bright light that must have been the exit from the canyon. Behind them, however, the monster seemed to be gaining ground. Its frenzied pants and growls echoed throughout the maze, mirrored by the thudding footsteps that came closer and closer. Finally, Fox snuck a quick glance backwards again, observing how far apart they were from their predator. Breaking his gaze away with some difficulty, he compared the distance to what lay ahead of them, the end of the canyon. Fox did not like his conclusion; the monster was probably going to reach them before they could escape into Icelus Valley.

As the seconds raced by, the wolf's growling turned into out right bellows of anger, and it threw everything it had into closing the distance between it and its prey. Even though they were only a few yards away from the exit, the monster was now so close to Fox he could feel it breathing down his neck. While the white light from the end of the passage began to envelope them, Fox looked behind to find that the wolf was reaching out a grizzled, clawed hand in an attempt to grab him off of Guide's back. Once again, Fox froze in fear and watched helplessly as the claw drew closer and closer to him, its fingers spreading out wickedly like the legs of a spider, and the blinding light of the end of the crevice burst out all around him.

* * *

**A/N: Cliff hanger again? Deal with it.**

**Who knows where this story could go from here; the initial outline has undergone several massive make-overs, probably one with each new chapter posted. At first, I was going to include as many personal dreams as I could, fitting them all together into one narrative, then I considered following the arc of one of my favorite albums, then I considered doing a disconnected series of metaphorical dreams, but finally settled on following the stages of... well, I can't divulge that, as it would spoil too much. There has already been one hidden reference as to the new plot line. Hopefully you'll notice some similarities between the dream world and the first few chapters, as well as some of the clever little easter eggs hidden so far. **

**So long for now, and I will hopefully be back soon. Last week has been pretty crazy for me, with a college road trip and mock trial competition, so that's why it has been about three weeks since my last post.**


	5. Icelus

**Chapter 5: Icelus**

**Or,**

**The City in Denial**

* * *

Walls closing in from either side, choking, constricting, squeezing the life out of him... A black, clawed hand reaching after him, fingers spreading wide, grabbing, yearning, inches away... A blinding, white light, coming from ahead, a light he had to run to; his life depended on it...

Fox woke up, coming to a bolt upright position and screaming wildly. His scream echoed throughout the vast, empty valley he now sat in. His breathing slowly returned to normal, and his scream died off, once he realized he had nothing to fear. Looking around him now, he suddenly became embarrassed. Icelus Valley lay spread out before him, completely white; every inch was covered in snow. Geographically, the valley was a wide depression in the landscape, with steep hills surrounding it on every side. At the far end loomed a large mountain formation, its peaks disappearing into the gray clouds which covered the sky seamlessly. _Perhaps Guide was right, _Fox thought, _you can never see the sky in this place..._

Speaking of Guide, Somniadux's large, black form appeared on Fox's side, startling him. "Did you have a good rest, little one?"

Brushing off the snow that had accumulated on his sleeping form, Fox answered, "I... I think I had a nightmare." He shook his head to clear his memory. "What... what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Guide returned.

"We were being chased by that monster, running towards the end of the stone maze thing. It was trying to grab us, before we made it out of the crevice. But I don't remember how it turned out."

"Oh, if that's all." Guide laughed at Fox's confusion. "That's just the way it is sometimes; you don't always know how a dream ends." Leaning on his staff he thought for a moment. "It's like... like waking up before you hit the ground when you fall, or before you get hit by a car."

"So it happens a lot?"

"Precisely."

There was an awkward silence so quiet Fox could hear the light flurry of snowflakes coming to rest on the ground. When Fox didn't say anything for a while, Guide cleared his throat and said, "What, you want to be awake when you hit the ground? You want to be conscious when the monster gets a hold of you?"

Fox sighed. "No, I guess not."

He could sense Guide smiling knowingly under his hood. He reached out a hand to help Fox up. "Come on, little one, Icelus City is right before us. We're almost there."

Accepting the hand, Fox let himself be pulled to his feet. Sure enough, amid the white-washed landscape at the bottom of their hill, a medium sized city could be seen. Guide lead Fox down the slope in a short walk to the city.

As Fox struggled to balance on the slippery slope, he asked, "So, uh, who is this friend of yours?"

Guide stoically trudged on, black cloak brushing against the snowy incline. At first, Fox thought he was going to avoid question, but he was proven wrong when Guide finally answered, "A very dear friend of mine. Her name is Heramor, though some call her the Ice Queen."

"Wow! She's a queen? Back at Corneria, we only have chancellors."

"To me, at least, she's a queen," Guide said chuckling, "though her kingdom is only big enough to cover one humble antique shop."

"Aw," Fox sighed, disappointed.

Somniadux looked back over his shoulder at Fox. As they entered the city through a small street that seemed to half-heartedly spill out into the countryside from in between the buildings, he said, "What? I think it's a very fascinating antique shop, the only one of its kind."

"Why?" Fox asked, "What does she sell there?"

"Oh, forgotten memories... abandoned delusions... old dreams that we just can't put aside."

Fox simply didn't know how to deal with that statement, so, he decided to remain quiet and admire Icelus city. At first, the buildings struck him as something out of Charles Chickens' _A Christmas Carol, _mainly because they were closely packed, in rather poor shape, and seemed like something out of the nineteenth century. On closer scrutiny, the houses were revealed to be much more modern, the kind found in classy town centers, though admittedly stylized for nostalgia. Old fashioned iron-enclosed lamps lined the streets, none of which were lit at the moment. Large glass windows with gold trimmings provided easy display and viewing of shop's goods, from baked foods and desserts to classic toys. Fox enjoyed the walk, taking in all the sights and observing the cheerful, whistling citizens as they walked by carrying shopping bags or purses.

Eventually, Guide had Fox stop at the intersection of a busy street and gestured at one of the corner shops. It had a large, distorted crystal glass window that covered the shop all the way from one street, around the corner, and down the other side. A painted sign hung just above the door, displaying the shop's name; "Ice Queen's Antiques," and a picture of a swirling snow globe.

"Ah, well, here we are. Shall we enter?" Guide held the door open for Fox, who easily ducked underneath his arm and entered the store. Once he was inside and out of the snow, Fox instinctively shook himself, scattering the remaining flakes that clung to his clothes. However, his attention was immediately grabbed by the store's interior.

Antiques of various sizes and varieties were piled into or stacked upon every conceivable space; the most valuable filled the interiors of glass display cases, the eye-catchers were laid out upon tables set close o the windows, ornaments were hung from hooks stuck into the ceiling, and uncountable other objects were stacked upon rows of wooden shelves that lined the back walls. Fox's eyes ogled over the thousands of articles, each demanding his attention with sparkling lights, whirring motors, or jingling parts. Fox rushed over to the nearest table, which held a vast array of snow-globes, each one's contents perpetually swirling. At the center of the first one he saw was a large mountain completely shrouded in a blizzard of snow. The second pictured a green grove dotted with colorful pavilions and tents, swirling about which was a cloud of fireflies. The third held a dirty city covered in towers with cannons protruding from every conceivable place, all clouded by a blanket of thick smog. The fourth barely contained a raging storm of sand, stars, and ocean, all of which writhed and struggled against each other like snakes. Fox would have eagerly continued looking over the dazzling globes, but at that moment Somniadux moved over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Come now, little one, nothing will happen if you just keep staring at them. We have to find our hostess, Heramor."

Reluctantly, Fox tore his gaze away from the peculiar snow globes and followed Guide over to a door that lead into the back of the store.

"Hmm, I don't understand it. Normally she would be up and about, managing the store. This isn't like her..." The door lead into a dimly lit hallway with boxes of unsorted antiques lining either side. Guide cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Heramor! Are you back here? I've come to see you. Oh, and I brought a guest."

A weak voice responded through a doorway left ajar further down the hall. "In here, Somniadux." The voice was accompanied by a fit of disconcerting coughs.

"Oh no," Guide muttered as he hurried down the hallway. "This can't be good."

When Fox rushed into the room after him, Guide was already there, kneeling beside a bed. The bedroom had curtained windows on one side, allowing the dim blue light of the snow-covered street to filter through. Across from the bed was an open fire place, but all it contained was a pile of dying embers and the blackened remains of a log. Beside the bed was a desk covered in a few random odds and ends that meant nothing to Fox, but he knew they must have been important to their owner. Slowly and cautiously, he crept into the room and tiptoed over to the bed. Peeking over Guide's shoulder, Fox realized the occupant was a sickly, pale fox. The vixen's eyes were weakly opened as she smiled at Guide. She had bundled herself as warmly as she could in her covers, but part of her beautiful nightgown still poked through, revealing a sparkling array of miniscule tear drop beads, snow flakes, and ice crystals.

"Hello, Guide. I'm sorry you have to see me like this."

Somniadux tightly clutched her delicate paw in his. "Heramor, what... how... how did this happen? You're alright, I hope?"

"I wouldn't be in bed like this if I was, now, would I?"

"What happened to you?" Guide asked, his concern obvious from the worry tinging his voice.

"I've been... poisoned. I don't know if it's fatal, or if I'll recover, or if I'll be like this for the rest of my life."

An air of tenseness strung through the room and the fire crackled a bit, matching Guide's new temper. "Heramor, may I ask... do you know who did this too you?"

The Ice Queen, reduced to little more than a sickly woman, sighed. "Yes. It was Morpheus."

"Morpheus," Guide breathed, quietly. Fox could see the anger and hate Guide felt as he let go of Heramor's hand and clenched his fist. He stood up abruptly and spun around, his cloak swirling with him and scattering the light beams filtering through the window. He strode over to the fire place and kicked the dying embers, causing a burst of flame to sprout up and fill the room with an orange, wrathful glow. Cursing under his breath, Guide leaned his forehead against the fire place in defeat.

But once Fox was no longer hidden behind Guide's shadow, Heramor noticed him for the first time. "Oh? You didn't tell me you were bringing a friend." When Guide didn't answer, she raised her paw with some effort and gestured for Fox to come to her side.

Reluctantly, Fox stepped over to her bedside and immediately took her hand, instinctively, even. Heramor smiled when he held her icy hand in his warm one. "What's your name?"

"Fox, Fox McCloud," he answered, unabashedly staring at her dying face. The sight began to bring tears to his eyes. Before he knew it, he was crying silently.

Heramor drew Fox's head closer to hers and shushed him. "There there, Fox. I'm going to be alright. And if not, that's just the way it has to be. What matters most is how you take it." Heramor continued talking assuredly like that in Fox's ear, but Fox lost track of her words; they meant nothing to him. Instead, he was simply comforted by her soft, weak, crooning voice, one that he thought he remembered from years ago.

Once Heramor noticed Fox had stopped crying, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "You're not from around here, are you?"

Fox shook his head.

"Aw, you poor boy, Fox, you must feel all alone in this world, like a stranger in a strange land. Do me a favor, and stick close to Guide, will you?" She drew him in even closer, so that her cold mouth brushed his ear, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Without me, he's really just as lonely and lost as you are. Stick together, and you'll be fine." Suddenly, her voice took on a much darker tone. "Though I must warn you, there is a battle Somniadux faces with every waking moment of his life. It is a battle between two animals, one of good, and the other of evil. He does his best to hide it from everyone, but I'm afraid it's getting out of hand."

With wide eyes, Fox slowly lifted his head and looked over at Guide, who still had his back to them both as he silently stared down at the sizzling fire.

"The evil one is showing itself more and more. It's only a matter of time before he hurts someone with it... or himself."

Suddenly, Guide straightened up and spun around.

"I'm going after Morpheus," he declared.

"What for?" Heramor questioned, skeptical. "Revenge?"

"For justice. Banishing Morpheus was our first mistake. We never should have let the bastard live. I'm going to repay him for all the crimes he's committed, against me, against you, against all the peoples of Infranimus. But first, I'll make him lift whatever curse he's cast upon you."

"Guide, you can't be serious."

"Of course I'm serious! It's about time we did something like this. I can't just sit around here and let you die! I'm leaving and there is no point in arguing about it."

Sighing defeatedly, Heramor agreed. "Alright, but I have one favor to ask. You see... Morpheus took something of mine, after he poisoned me."

"What was it?" Guide asked, stepping over to her bed again.

"Just an old dream of mine, though certainly, the most important to me."

"What does it look like?"

Fox was surprised at Guide's question; he wasn't aware that dreams could look like anything, or be stolen, for that matter. But he was even more surprised when Heramor answered.

"A violet flower encased in a crystal. An old ornament, one that I've cherished for a long time and have never been willing to give up."

Taking her hand, Somniadux said, "I promise, when I catch Morpheus, I'll return this dream of yours, and I'll make him cure you."

"Well, go on now, there's no point in waiting with me." Looking at Fox, she said, "Goodbye, Fox. I've never met anyone as loving or caring as you."

Sniffing, Fox said, "Goodbye, Ms. Heramor." When Guide took a hold of his hand, he found himself instinctively struggling against it, trying to spend as long as he could with the Ice Queen before she disappeared behind the door frame. When they finally left the room, they walked down the dark and still hallway, and Fox was struck with a sense of calmness and completeness.

"Guide, will we ever see Ms. Heramor again?"

For a few seconds, they walked on in silence, and Fox knew Guide was struggling with the answer.

"No... little one."

* * *

Stepping out onto the brightly lit snow-covered street again, Guide pulled his cloak more tightly around himself and turned to walk down the street on the shop's right.

"Hey, Guide, uh, where do we go now? Are we going to find Morpheus?"

Guide shook his head. "First we have to assemble a small party. Right now I'm going to find my friend Oneir. We'll need his help; he's a very wise man. After that, we'll hire the Infranimus Dreamscaping Co."

"The Infranimus _what_?"

"You remember, the workmen we met a while ago, who were so kind to build the bridge for us? We'll need them to fix up the path ahead. If I know Morpheus, he'll be covering up his tracks pretty well."

They walked on in silence, merely enjoying the cheerful attitude of the passing townspeople and the homely houses and stores lining the streets.

Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over Fox, and it wasn't Guide's. Looking up, he noticed that the whole opposite side of the street had been enveloped by a massive glacier. The wall of ice stretched so far back that Fox couldn't see where it ended, and it stood so tall that the top vanished into the heavy clouds. The citizens of the unfortunate block had been seemingly taken unawares. People were frozen in the middle of reading the newspaper, walking down the sidewalk, or parking their cars. One unlucky gentlemen was caught in the middle of picking his nose on a park bench.

Fox ran ahead and caught onto Guide's sleeve, pointing a quivering finger at the wall of ice that was enveloping the city. "Wha... what is that?"

Guide didn't even glance sideways. "A glacier."

"But what's it doing _inside _the city? Don't the people know about it?"

"Of course they know about it. You can't miss a giant wall of ice that takes up nearly half of your home city. The problem is, they see it, but they ignore it."

"How can they ignore something as big as that is? Don't they know they're going to be frozen?"

"Everything around here points to their imminent doom, but they just deny it. The complete ignorance of some people sickens me."

"But they can't all ignore it! You see it, right? Why don't you warn them?"

"I gave up on them long ago. If they can't see what stares them in the face every day, they have no right to escape it. But there are those who still try to warn them. Obviously they don't get very far, or the city would have been evacuated by now. My good friend, Oneir, who we are going to see now, is one of them. But they treat him little better than a roadside soothsayer."

After some more walking, they escaped from the shadow of the glacier only to fall under another one. Towering above them stood a giant clock tower in the middle of the town center. A golden Victorian-styled clock face was set into the very top, each hour marked by Roman numerals. The base of the tower split apart, leaving a large atrium where people congregated. What immediately caught Fox's attention, however, was the massive pendulum that swung back and forth inside the atrium, just narrowly missing the tops of the citizens' heads with each swing. Fox openly gawked at the sight while he allowed Guide to lead him up the steps and into court. Gathered on the stone steps leading up to the atrium was a slowly accumulating group of spectators, who were laughing bemusedly at something at their center. Bobbing up and down above their heads was a large picket sign that Fox struggled to read. He could barely make out the words, "Time is running out: The end of the wordl [sic] is nigh!"

"Oh dear," Guide muttered. He took a hold of Fox's hand so as not to lose him when he shouldered his way through the crowd. They came out into the clearing in the center, and Fox saw that the sign was held by a ragged, bent animal with a gray cloak like Guide's. However, his face wasn't hidden. His head was adorned with long, droopy ears, and his face was covered in a frenzied expression that made him look like he was either spending too much time up in the hills, or was completely insane.

"Why can't you fools see it! Nearly half the city is missing now! Every day, that wall of ice gets closer and closer to the town center, and you go about your day, whistling your cares away!"

A man at the front of the crowd laughed at him. "Oh, so _we're _the fools, old man? No one cares about that little mound of ice. That ice cube belongs in a cold shot of gin, if anything."

"That's right!" a woman spoke up, "Come summer time, it'll melt right away!"

"A glacier that size would flood the entire city in six feet of water if it melted!" Oneir retorted, "And has anyone ever even heard of summer in a town like this? Winter and cold weather are staples here! They're the signature of Icelus! Face it, that wall of ice is inching closer and closer towards the heart of the city, as the clock tower slowly ticks down to your doom! Why can't you see – " but he halted mid-sentence when he noticed Guide and Fox enter the circle. "Sorry everyone! Proclaiming your imminent doom will have to wait. I have a friend I must speak with."

Guide stepped forwards, drawing Oneir aside from the crowd and beckoning for Fox to join them. "Do we have to speak in front of these prying vultures?" he whispered, harshly.

"We're in the middle of the town square," Oneir replied with a warm, jovial voice worn by age, "there's no avoiding a bit of eavesdropping. But first things first, Somniadux! We haven't spoken in months."

"Oneir, there's something I must tell you; we do not meet under the most ideal circumstances..." Guide proceeded to fill Oneir in on what had happened earlier that day.

"And you plan on hunting Morpheus down?"

Guide nodded. "That's why I came to you, Sage. If anyone could find Morpheus, it would be you."

Oneir thoughtfully scratched at the mangy stubble covering his chin. "Hmm... Morpheus will obviously try to obstruct our path. We will need the help of the IDS."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Guide agreed, "We will need to hire them before we leave Icelus."

"Right. Well then, let's not waste any more – " For the first time, Oneir caught sight of Fox, who was crouching behind Guide, trying to determine whether the old flea-bitten soothsayer was mad or just eccentric. "Oh? And who might this be? A little waif you picked up somewhere?"

"Ah... yes," Guide pushed Fox forwards, who was still a little reluctant to meet Oneir. "This is Fox; I found him crawling wounded along the Twilight Waste. It seems he doesn't know his way around Infranimus, and he has no ties anywhere. Quite a special child, this little one."

Bending down towards Fox, Oneir said, "What's a matter, Fox? Does my appearance put you off? I don't blame you. Anyone would be afraid of a flee-bitten bag like me. But don't worry, I don't bite. Got no teeth!" And he parted his lips in a wide smile to prove it. Then Oneir took to patting down the side of his gray cloak, looking for something. "Must have misplaced them somewhere... oh, that's no problem."

Guide hurriedly placed a restraining paw on Oneir's shoulder. "Please, don't scare the child out of his wits, old friend."

"Oh, right. Sorry, Fox, I didn't mean to – "

"No, that's okay, Oneir; I think I like you that way," Fox interrupted him with a cheerful, reassuring bounce in his voice.

"You... you do? Splendid! Well, then, you may call me Sage! Something only my closest friends call me. How about it Fox?" he said, holding out his paw.

Fox gladly accepted his gesture of friendship and shook his hand.

"Now, Guide, is this little runt coming with you?"

"Yes, but I think he has his own reasons for confronting Morpheus."

"What do you mean?" Sage asked, arching his eyebrows.

"Well... this little one is from..." Not knowing how to finish, Guide pointed upwards.

After a second, Oneir understood what he meant. "Ah, from the Overworld. So that means, if he's down here, he must have – "

Suddenly, a gun shot rang out from somewhere on the opposite side of the town center. Every ear in the crowd perked up, and heads turned around to face the direction of the shot. Further down the town center could be seen a group of fellow soothsayers running for their lives as several police officers and other fed-up citizens chased after them with blazing guns.

"Oh dear," muttered Sage, "I think we've irritated them enough for one day; our job here is done. The natives are starting to get restless." Then he hitched up the hem of his cloak and said, "Welp, I'm outta here. You boys better come along; they'll be after you, too."

"What do you mean?" Fox asked in a worried voice, "We haven't done anything!"

Proving Oneir's words to be true, an unidentifiable pedestrian in the crowd raised a hand gun above their heads and fired a warning shot.

"Hurry!" Oneir exclaimed, grabbing a hold of Fox and Guide. They tripped haphazardly down the town square's steps, then ran as fast as they could down a side alley. Fox nearly slipped on the brick street made wet from melted snow, but Guide was quick to lend a hand. As they rounded a corner, Fox looked behind them just in time to see a couple angry citizens enter their alleyway and brandish their guns.

As soon as they made it to the next intersection, Guide suddenly grabbed onto Fox and Oneir's sleeves. "Wait," he said in a breathless voice, "we have to split up here."

"Right," Sage agreed, "I'll go west and recruit the moles to our mission. You take this young man here and go east. We'll meet up at Harpman's bridge, got it?"

"Understood."

The group of fugitives ducked down opposite streets, running as fast as they could to escape their pursuers. At every new corner they came upon, Guide would peek down the street, making sure it was safe to enter. They were just passing The Ice Queen's Antique Shop again when a group of enraged townsfolk rounded the corner directly in front of them.

"They're they are!" One of them shouted, leveling his gun at the unlucky pair. Guide attempted to pull Fox into the antique shop, but it was too late; Fox saw a blinding white flash of light emit from the pursuer's gun, and his world faded away in an instant.


End file.
